What is Islam !

The name Islam itself comes from the root word “salam” which means “peace” in Arabic. “Islam” actually means “submission”, which is understood as submission of the human being’s will to the will of God. So, a complete definition for the word Islam would be “submission to God in order to obtain peace.” And a Muslim, coming from that same root word s-l-m, is a person who submits himself to God in order to obtain peace. How do we submit ourselves to God? The answer is that it is not easy, it is extremely difficult. To submit yourself to God means putting your own natural human desires on the back shelf when they conflict with God’s desires. It means caring more about the next life than this one. It means desiring the intangible good of the hereafter more than the material things of this world. It means conquering our inner pride, loving the things that God loves and hating the things that He hates. It’s a tall order for a mere human. Islam is an entire way of life.

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Islam gives guidance for every aspect of a person’s life, including what food to eat, what clothes to wear, and how to act as a mother, father, brother, sister and member of society in general. It’s all inclusive, or at least it should be. If all people perfectly submitted their wills to God’s we would have a near utopian society. Human beings need structure in their lives, which is observable in day to day activities. There are 5 pillars of Islam which provide that crucial structure to a person’s life. These 5 pillars are the foundation of an individual’s religion, without them there can be no Islam, but they are only the bare minimum requirements.

The first is the shahada, or the declaration of faith. It is when a person says and believes that there is no deity worth of any type of worship except for Allah, and that Muhammad is His messenger. The second is the prayer which should be performed a minimum of 5 times each day. The third is zakat which can be thought of as a tax to feed the poor and purify your money. The fourth is fasting for the entire month of Ramadan from sunrise to sunset each day. Last but not least, the fifth is the hajj which is the pilgrimage to Mecca. The hajj should be performed at least once in a person’s life if they are able.

Islam stands on the simple belief in the truthfulness of the Prophet (SallALLAHualaihewasallam) of Islam. .For a Muslim Allah exists because he has put his faith in the words of Prophet Muhammad (SallALLAHualaihewasallam) who stated

*لآ اِلَهَ اِلّا اللّهُ مُحَمَّدٌ رَسُوُل اللّهِ*

‘There is no God but Allah and Muhammad is his Messenger’This belief being the frist fundamental principle of Islam, one can hardly deny that his status as a believer in Islam stands on a razor’s edge viz., the veracity of Prophet Muhammad’s assertion. The Holy Qura’n as a book of revelation too is dependent upon the veracity of the Prophet’s claim that it is Divine Revelation. So, the first basic principle of Islam, Iman or faith is built around the belief in the words of Prophet Muhammad (SallALLAHualaihewasallam).Wha- t we have stated above is an infallible truth about Islam.But there are Muslims who do not consciously realize this truth. For them, the following catechism may be of some use:1) Why do you believe in Allah?- Because, the Prophet (SallALLAHualaihewasallam) has asked us to believe in Him.2) Why do you believe in the Kalema?- Because the Prophet (SallALLAHualaihewasallam) has asked us to put our belief in it.3) Why do you say your salat?- Because the Prophet (SallALLAHualaihewasallam) said it is ordained by Allah.There is nothing in Islam which a Muslim can claim to have derived directly from Allah. All his rituals and his observance of the Faith have come to him through His Prophet. So this belief in Allah being the Omnipotent and he himself brings his Messenger is an axiomatic truth. The truth comes through a mortal and the axiom is of no value if the mortal is not given credence. People of other religions may worship this Allah and may have chosen to give Him other names, but a Muslim’s way to Allah has got to be through His Prophet.For the followers of the Prophet who took upon themselves the rigours of persecution during the first phases of the preaching of nascent Islam, two things were real and permeated their whole being - the intense love of the Prophet and an unflinching faith in the sovereignty of an invisible Allah. Their faith emanated from love for and faith in the Prophet.To them these Qur’anic verses were very much real:‘To the Mumins (Believers) their Prophet is dearer than their own selves’(Sura Ahzab, Verse #6). Equally tellingly did the following words of the Prophet (SallALLAHualaihewasallam) ring out loud in their ears:‘Those who do not put their love of the Prophet above their love for themselves, their wealth, their parents, their children and everything else, are not Muslims’(Bukhari, Muslim). Today, very few consciously realize that their Allah would not exist if the Prophet had not spoken the truth. Unfortunately, this fact is often forgotten by Islamic academics too around the world.We concede that the Prophet (SallALLAHualaihewasalalm) is a mortal, but we emphatically asserts that he should not be confused with an ordinary mortal like us. ‘Both diamond and pebbles are stones, but one is worn on the crown and the other is trampled under feet’,Quoting an Ayat from Sura Mayidah the following ayah:Qad ja’a kum minallahe nurun wa kitabum mubin[Maidah 5:15] O People given the Book(s)! Indeed this Noble Messenger (Prophet Mohammed - peace and blessings be upon him) of Ours has come to you, revealing to you a lot of the things which you had hidden in the Book, and forgiving a lot of them; indeed towards you has come a light * from Allah, and a clear Book. (* The Holy Prophet is a light from Allah).Those who drum up the Qur’anic verse where the Prophet has been asked to state that he is a human often tend to forget the rest of the ayah where it is stated that to him come divine revelations. Further, they forget that undermining the Prophet or any other prophet as a mere human being is tantamount to loss of faith.[Tagabun 64:6] This is because their Noble Messengers used to bring clear proofs to them, in response they said, “What! Will humans show us the way?”; they therefore became disbelievers and turned away, and Allah acted independently; and Allah is the Independent, the Most Praiseworthy. In the Qur’an the imperative ‘obey Allah and the Prophet’ (ittaqullah wa rasulihi) - comes as co-ordinates. A Muslim cannot obey Allah without obeying His Prophet.Having thus put the basic axiom in order, we go on to explain the basic tenet of Islam - the Kalema. The Kalema is not simply stating that there is no deity but Allah and Muhammad is His messenger. We contend that la ilaha illallah is the essence of creation. The universe is the manifestation of Allah’s Dhat - the Dhat is invisible, eternal. Allah has manifested Himself in His creation and He is immanent in everything contained in the universe. This means the Creator provides evidence or signs His Exitence, signs which are present in the creation. eg. ALLAH is "all Merciful" and His Mercy is One of His Attributes. His Mercy will manifest (show a sign in the creation) itself and a believer is the one who witness (not just believe or understand) this sign.[Nisa 4:126] And to Allah only belongs all whatever is in the heavens and all whatever is in the earth; and Allah has control over all things.[Noor 24:35] Allah is the Light of the heavens and the earth; the example of His light is like a niche in which is a lamp; the lamp is in a glass; the glass is as if it were a star shining like a pearl, kindled by the blessed olive tree, neither of the east nor of the west – it is close that the oil itself get ablaze although the fire does not touch it; light upon light; Allah guides towards His light whomever He wills; and Allah illustrates examples for mankind; and Allah knows everything. (The Holy Prophet is a light from Allah)One is ephemeral, but the other is eternal. This is what the Qur’an states in many an ayah, the most glaring of them being .‘Kullu man a’laiha faan, wa yabqa wazhu rabbika zulijalale wal ikraam(everything shall be destroyed, only the Wajh of Allah, the mighty and the magnificent, shall abide - Sura Ar-Rahman, 26).Once someone puts his faith in the axiom stated by the Prophet, one has to accept all other corollaries coming from him. Allah claims in the Quran that He is the Light of the Universe (Sura Noor ayah 35).In one of the Hadith Qudsis Allah states - Khalaqtu Muhammadan min noori wajhihi (I have created Muhammad from My special Light).In another Hadith Qudsi Allah states - Lao laka lama khalaqtul aflaaq . ( O Prophet, I would not have created anything if I had not created you).If you add to this another Hadith, you begin to see the reality as hidden in the Kalema e Taiyyab, Awaluma khalaq Allah noori Allah first created my Light).And the Prophet hastens to add - ana min noorillah kullu shayyim min noori ( I am from Allah’s Light and everything has been created from my Light).The question is one of belief in the axiom and there cannot be a half-belief or a quarter-belief. One has to believe in it as a whole or not believe in it at all. But as you accept what is stated above, you see and will witness that the Kalema is a binary truth -Allah’s Dhat being the CIPHER (Hidden Truth)and the Prophet along with the whole manifestation (Universe) being the numerical unit ONE.

This is the truth inherent in every atom of the universe - the positive and the negative giving the atom its entity. This is the inherent truth of the creation of human beings or for that matter any other being in the universe - the male acting as the positive force and the female providing the indispensable negative force. If this is the truth about the manifested universe and if we accept this as the truth, we must admit that Hazrat Muhammad (SallALLAHualaihewasalalm) is our window on this Truth. And let us not forget Truth (al-Haq) is one of Allah’s manifested (clearly evident) names.

One of the things he keeps harping on is the question of Shirk - of associating Allah with other things denying Allah’s sovereignty. .The denial takes a great many subtle forms. The office boss is considered to be the sole authority for our promotion and transfer. Men in authority are dreaded. A notorious anti-social occupies a high place in the social hierarchy and we don’t protest his excesses. .These are all cases where human beings are feared more than Allah the Almighty. And this is a kind of shirk or substitution of deities. It is so subtle a process in our mind that we do not even own up to it. We turn towards the black cube in Makkah and during Haj go round it seven times for tawaf, but if the owner of the house is forgotten, it then lapses into a kind of idolatry. Man has perennially distanced himself from his deity- stone, trees, sun, moon, statues - in order to worship it. When our Prophet (SallALLAHualaihewasallam) abolished these deities and introduced to us an invisible, all-powerful, all-seeing Allah, it was difficult for the early Muslims to forget their idols. They would still carry small idols in their armpits. So the Prophet (SallALLAHualaihewasallam) introduced the system of raising both arms while commencing prayers.For a Muslim his prayer is a compulsory ritual, but it is often forgotten that the ritual has a soul inside. That soul is a realization that the Deity, we are bowing our heads to is immanent. The realization of Al Hakikah al Muhammad, a force (the soul) that flows in everything of the universe and also flows through the one even ho is prostrating himself before Him. Once he is completely immersed in Him through al hakikah al Muhammad (SallALLAHualaihewasallam), directions to which one bows his head become meaningless. For a true Mumin (not just a Muslim) there is no direction, no space to which he can turn his head and bow. But the concept itself is not permissible by Shari’a laws. And herein comes the question of tariqat, haqikat and marifat. This is what we are trying to explain to unfold the inner truths of Islam as propounded by our Prophet (SallALLAHualaihewasallam).The- focal point of the vision of this is love. The entire Philosophy of life is permeated by the Qur’an and Sunnah. The word insaan, is derived from the root uns and it means love.Allah says in the Qur’an that He has created man from one man and a woman and has spread them over the whole world having divided them in different sects and communities (Sura Hujurat, ayah 13).

[Hujurat 49:13] O mankind! We have indeed created you from one man and one woman, and have made you into various nations and tribes so that you may know one another; indeed the more honourable among you, in the sight of Allah, is one who is more pious among you; indeed Allah is All Knowing, All Aware. (Piety is the basis of honour in Allah’s sight.)So humanity is bound by the common bond of fraternity. And He being the Sustainer of this universe (rabbul a’lamin), has made Prophet Muhammad (SallALLAHualaihewasallam) the rahmat or divine blessing of the universe (rahmatallil a’lamin). So there is no room in Islam for being parochial - the message of love and peace that the Prophet gave is addressed to all mankind, not just Muslims. .There is, therefore, no room for hatred in Islam. ‘A man filled with hatred for others cannot belong to any religion, let alone Islam’,.[Hujurat 49:14] The ignorant said, “We have accepted faith”; say, (O dear Prophet Mohammed - peace and blessings be upon him), “You have surely not accepted faith, but you should say ‘We have submitted’, for faith has not yet entered your hearts; and if you obey * Allah and His Noble Messenger, He will not reduce the reward of any of your deeds; indeed Allah is Oft Forgiving, Most Merciful.” .(* By accepting faith and then obeying the commands).Only those will truly accept who have truly witnessed.How do you go about knowing yourself is a question that has always bothered man ever since he was created?The long chain of Prophets since Hazrat Adam (Alayhissalam) has tried to instill in man this simple but immensely intricate lesson. .Man is a peculiar creation - more than half animal, only a quarter or even less than that, angel. .He is made of four elements - air, earth, fire and water. These elements refuse to mix with one another, but strangely enough, they have been made to coexist in the human frame. .All our earthly desires and propensities take their orifin from these elements. If man gives himself away to these relentless desires, he is no more than a beast (Sura A’raf, 179), the Quran asserts.[Aa`raf 7:179] And indeed We have created many jinns and men for hell; they have hearts in which their is no understanding; and the eyes they do not see with; and the ears they do not hear with; they are like cattle - in fact more astray; it is they who are the neglectful.So one of man’s chief struggles is to overcome these desires and to be master of himself. This is a kind of silent Jihad or holy war he has to wage all his life. Once he is able to control, but not eliminate these desires, he is ready to meet the Spirit that abides in him.

Prophet Muhammad (SallALLAHualaihewasallam) has given us a code of life enshrined in the Shari’a. The Shari’a disciplines man and brings his way of life under certain practices which ennoble him and the environment in which he lives. But mere Shari’a, devoid of Tariqat may lead to spiritual and corporeal aridity. Tariqat is the vital sap of Shari’a without which Shari’a renders itself into a vast wasteland devoid of the creative spirit. .Waju or ablution is a compulsory pre-requisite of Islamic prayers.Washing hands and faces in a particular way is a manifested ritual - one may do a thousand and one ablutions and yet may remain impure at heart.If the heart is impure, no prayer can bring the human spirit closer to his Lord. So in Tariqat, they insist on another wadu or ablution, which is Tauba or asking God’s forgiveness and seeking his help to keep away from sin.Similarly all the canonical rituals of Islam may degenerate into meaningless physical exercises, if the spirit behind each ritual is not invoked.So first teaching is to be steadfast in Taqwa or belief.But Taqwa is not simple belief - it is a blend of love and fear for Allah as the Beloved Sall-ALLAHualaihewasallam. Next to this he would like his followers to attempt a harmonious and balanced seeking of Shari’a and Tariqat. When this balace is struck in worship, a devotee is ready to encounter Truth - the Haqikat. And as a natural consequence comes the next stage which is total immersion in the Universal Spirit - the Marifat.Allah in his inscrutable Dhat had fallen in love with Himself and wanted to see Himself. He created light and that light was Prophet Muhammad (SallALLAHualaihewasallam). Allah manifested himself in all created things (His Signs are clearly evident in everything) and created man in his own likeness having breathed his Spirit unto him. And now He wanted man to be like Him - to bedaub himself in Allah’s colour. This means to emulate or follow SUnnah of ALLAH by trying to see oneself.MAN ARAFA NAFSAHU FAKATH ARAFA RABBAHU.THE ONE WHO KNEW HIMSELF HAD KNOWN THE LORD."And do not be like those who forgot Allah, so He made them forget themselves," Surah Hashr..

How would man make himself like Allah? So again it is Allah who calls Muhammad (SallALLAHualaihewasallam). ‘uswatun hasana’, Allah’s own likeness on earth, the ideal man has to emulate. Laqad kaana lakum fii rasuulil-laahi Uswatun Hasana (Surah Ahzab: Verse 21) Means, ALLAH made to know Prophet SallALLAHualaihewasalalm by calling him on Meraj and showing his own reality (Hakikat of Prophet Himself) to the Prophet as confirmed by the following Verse. (Al Hakikah Al Muhammad).[Najm 53:18] Indeed he saw the Greatest Signs of his Lord. Thus it means to know the origin of your existence which has troubled Mankind since all ages.[Israel 17:22] O listener, do not set up another Allah with Allah, for you will then remain seated condemned, helpless.You can know yourself by knowing Quran but knowing Quran and failing to realize the origin of his own existence is a self contradictory claim his/her own claim of knowing the Quran.It is in this emulation that the modern man encounters a lot of hindrances. .The foremost among these hindrances is the conflict between the inner and the outer selves that each individual has to either struggle to resolve or let them alone. .Those who are insensitive to this conflict go to the mosque, say their prayers and perform all the rituals to the letters, and yet when they come out into the open and meet the challenges of contemporary life, they simply quietly give in. Religion for them becomes a kind of convenient mask they wear to project an image of pretended piety. They indulge in corruption - all kinds of corruption without any qualm of conscience. But those who struggle to reconcile the two selves, have a difficult journey to negotiate. .If one aims at that wuswatun hasana, he has to struggle hard to effect this reconciliation of the outer and the inner selves..We are trying to grab our attention to this contradiction in our life and scathingly criticizes the way in which we have made religion a museum piece - something that we go and visit but never emulate in our practical life. As a result the Quran lies buried under shining clothes on equally magnificent rehels or wooden stands - it fails to inspire us in our practical life. Mosques replicate and become architectural pieces of excellence, but life goes on in its own rhythm, never touching the fringe of religion. This is the contradiction against which we need to wage a relentless war.One thas to put his absolute faith in Allah and his Messenger (SallALLAHualaihewasallam). Then he has to emulate the life of the Prophet (SallALLAHualaihewasallam). Three things as integral to a virtuous life - a desire for purity, remembrance of Allah and an urge to achieve proximity of Allah. In order to achieve these three goals, we prescribe three lessons to all, followers and admirers.

One, he wants them to maintain wadu or ablutory purity throughout the waking hours of their life.Two, we wants them to remember Allah in every breath of their life where the word ALLAH becomes a part of heart beat, where ALLAH Huu is heared from the heart when the tongue is silent.Three, we have to say their Tahazzud prayers at dead of night when the whole world is asleep and they are face to face with their Creator. When someone follows these three lessons having been aglow with an intense love of the Prophet (SallALLAHualaihewasallam), one achieves peace and the desired reconciliation is effected. There remains no barriers between life and religion.In all religions, pious men and women look upward while praying to God. Seeking the Creator in an ethereal heaven is common to all religion. Seeking takes different forms in different religions. Some renounce the society and go to the woods. Some practice celibacy. But the Prophet of Islam (SallALLAHualaihewasallam) has asked his followers to look for his Creator (witness His Signs) in his own environment, in the radiant smile of the children, in the misery of the poor, in the agony of the sick, in the animals and insects and in the entire eco-system. A truly religious man has responsibilities towards all of them which he can hardly deny. On the other hand, physical desires have not been written off as something ugly. Desire is an essential part of existence, the only thing is that man has to rein in his desires and be a master of his animal propensities. There can be no devotional practice without desire. But man must not pursue desire like animals, but as prescribed by the Holy Book.

Thus the entire discussion draws our attention to the Qura’nic injunction to look for a wasila.

In the hadith we have been asked to look for the Imame Zamana or the Leader of the time. In todays where where there the every Nations affair have been seperated from Religion, because of the Failure of Political Unity amongst the True Islamic Fraternity. Thus for a Muslim living in a Non Muslim state, how he can find his Imam when a Non Muslim is ruling over him?

Furthermore, for a Non Muslim what creditibility one has that the Political Ruler of a Muslim State is totally in adherence of Quran and Sunnah?.If one does not search for the Imam of his time, his death may not be that of a Muslim. So this is an obligatory search which must go on as long as one is alive.If he dies during his search, his death would be that of a shaheed or martyr.

'One who dies without recognizing the Imam of his time, dies the death of ignorance.'

For a person living in a Muslim/Non Muslim, Here he has the first duty of finding out his Spiritual Guide. Nothing is above the Qura’n and Sunnah. If there is anything that contradicts them, that should be forthwith given up. The Qura’n has enjoined on us to hold tight each other’s hands and thereby uphold the Islamic Ummah or Muslim brotherhood.